Most well-established recording artists and bands have a song their fans associate with them. People call them a “signature song”. And because fans identify that song to them, they are expected to perform them at almost every concert appearance.

When The Tokens covered The Lion Sleeps Tonight with their own rendition, they didn’t know it was going to be a bigger hit than them.

After they released the single in 1961, it easily claimed the number one spot on the US music charts. The band even sold one million copies of it!

Several years after, it’s still a huge hit- and, since people can’t get enough of their version, The Tokens knew they had to perform the song during one of their live gigs.

This time, they decided to give the song a haunting twist.

The performance started with all the members of the band on stage.

Clearly, they looked older. However, even though their physical appearances changed, their voices were still the same.

When the band’s frontman, Jay Siegel, sang the famous opening line of the song, the crowd started cheering. Hearing him sing “Weeheeheehee” was enough to get the fans clapping. Then, the other members joined in.

You can easily tell how happy the crowd was to hear the beat.

It surely brought back a lot of happy memories. In fact, all the members were smiling as they sang the part.

The men were having a great time.

They were clearly in their comfort zone as they sang the song.

At one point, Jay even turned his microphone into a mini-flute. He pretended to play the instrument and it was fun to watch. Truly, hearing a group sing their song live is way better than hearing their recording. It’s a lot more entertaining.

Halfway through the song, a female vocalist stole the show.

Although the spotlight wasn’t on her while she was singing, she still earned a lot of praise for her performance. The very high notes she sang in the background gave the song a bit of an operatic twist.

A lot of people who watched the performance online got curious about her.

One of the viewers said:

“The beautiful smiling lady, does a brilliant singing job, to watch and hear her is a pleasure.”

Another one commented:

“Wonderful harmonies, and incredible vocals from the Lady opera singer!”

Her name is Kelly De Fade.

Considered as a versatile performer, she delivered all the high notes with ease. Her vocal range made it easy for her to harmonize with the band.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight was originally written and recorded in 1939. It was released under the title “Mbube” by Solomon Linda. The first version was written in Zulu. The English version, meanwhile, was written by George David Weiss.

A few years after its release, several pop and folk revival artists created their own version. The list includes the Kingston Trio, Miriam Makeba, Henri Salvador, and Jimmy Dorsey. Of course, the list also includes The Tokens.

The song was also featured in both the musical and film versions of the well-known Disney creation. It was first used in The Lion King franchise by Timon and Pumbaa. They also sang the version of the song for the film.

Hear the chilling new layer of the hit classic in the video below.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: YouTube, See It Live